Thursday, July 30, 2015

Mapping Pluto

The Three Billion Mile Journey to Pluto is a really interesting map of New Horizons' long journey to reach Pluto. The map plots New Horizons nine year journey from Earth to Pluto and also shows the positions of the major planets as they orbit the sun.

The map is a simple two dimensional view of New Horizons and the planets. However I think it is an inspired idea to use simple animated markers on polylines to map the Solar System. It seems such a simple idea but one that opens up so many possibilities for anyone interested in maps and astronomy.

Our friends over at the Google Earth Blog have created a kml file which allows you to view Pluto in Google Earth. The Latest Pluto Map in Google Earth uses the latest high resolution imagery of Pluto. The map only includes about half of the surface area of Pluto but it is still an amazing way to explore the latest imagery from New Horizons.